It's a misty morning in Mattur, a quiet village tucked along the banks of the Tunga River in Karnataka's Shivamogga district. A shopkeeper greets his neighbour, and the words clear, melodic, ancient drift through the air. The exchange is unremarkable for the locals, but to an outsider, it feels like stepping into another era.

Here, conversations unfold not in Kannada or English, but in Sanskrit. The language of the Vedas, once thought confined to rituals and classrooms, has found a home in everyday life. Children call out to their friends in Sanskrit, farmers discuss crops in Sanskrit, and the village's street signs, temple boards, and even casual graffiti are etched in Sanskrit.

Mattur, home to fewer than 3,000 residents, has done what linguists once thought impossible - it has made San

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